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Military
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Don Cielewich crew. 3 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Mannheim/Ludwigshaven in B-17 42-3413 'Hard Luck!' 14-Aug-44; Shot down by flak*. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 7899
*Co-pilot noted A/C ran out of fuel, crew baled out as it plunged earthward. All crew barring the pilots egressed via rear fuselage exit, pilots used the nose hatch.
Awards: POW. WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Don Cielewich crew. Failed to Return (FTR) Mannheim/Ludwigshaven in B-17 42-3413 'Hard Luck!' 14-Aug-44; Shot down by flak. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 7899
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
First mission returned with 197 holes in aircraft from bullets/shrapnel. Shot down over Germany on 14 August 1944 in B-17 #42-3413 'Hard Luck' on third mission. Captured by a German farmer who turned him over to the SS. The farmer gave him a raw egg...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 100th Bomb Group
Crashed at Falkengesass on 8/14/44 in B-17 'Hard Luck' #42-3413, Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Crashed at Falkengesass on 14-Aug-44 in B-17 'Hard Luck' 42-3413, Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 7899
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Crashed at Falkengesass on 8/14/44 in B-17 Kismet #42-3413, Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Don Cielewich crew. 3 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Mannheim/Ludwigshaven in B-17 42-3413 'Hard Luck!' 14-Aug-44; Shot down by flak*. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 7899
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Don Cielewich crew. 3 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Mannheim/Ludwigshaven in B-17 42-3413 'Hard Luck!' 14-Aug-44; Shot down by flak. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 7899
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Don Cielewich crew. 3 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Mannheim/Ludwigshaven in B-17 42-3413 'Hard Luck!' 14-Aug-44; Shot down by flak. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 7899
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Dallas 10/6/43; Dow Fd 18/8/43; Assigned 350BS/100BG [LN-V] Thorpe Abbotts 20/8/43; on mission to Berlin 7/5/44 with Loren Van Steenis, Navigator: Harry Becker (Killed in Action), Bombardier: Lester Torbett Wounded in Action, (8 Returned to...
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
Other location
Other location
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Based | Thorpe Abbotts | 1944 – 14 August 1944 |
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Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Prisoner of War (POW) | Zagan, Poland | 14 August 1944 – May 1945 |
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Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft III. |
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| Lived in | Union City, New Jersey, USA | |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 09 June 2021 18:26:57 | Al_Skiff | Changes to highest rank, biography, awards, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&Itemid=3... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 June 2021 15:49:46 | acbernstein1 | Changes to person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/91043864. (MACR 7899) |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 April 2021 19:54:57 | jmoore43 | Changes to service number |
| Sources | ||
Added a S/N from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA). |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 April 2021 19:53:23 | jmoore43 | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Added an association to the 100th BG listed in the A/C #42-3413 description section. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 April 2021 19:01:36 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:06:29 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
100th Bomb Group Foundation Directory, 2000 - 2001, MACR 7899 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7899 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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